After 7 years at Anna Maria, Calareso leaving to head St. Joseph's College

Tuesday

Mar 25, 2014 at 6:00 AMMar 25, 2014 at 8:47 AM

By Jacqueline Reis TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

PAXTON — Jack P. Calareso, who announced Friday he was resigning as president of Anna Maria College, was named Monday to head St. Joseph's College in New York.

Word got out last week that he was leaving, but he was asked to keep his new job a secret until Monday, Mr. Calareso said.

He was already contemplating leaving Anna Maria when he was nominated for the St. Joseph's job, he said.

"I just was feeling like I needed a new challenge, something different," said Mr. Calareso, 63. He had already been at Anna Maria seven years and has never stayed in any position too long. It's time, he added, to "let someone else come in who has fresh eyes."

"There's no issue" driving him to leave, he said. He has never had a vote of no confidence from the board of trustees and is not breaking any contract, he said. While he had an employment agreement to stay through 2017, he will not be paid by Anna Maria after he starts at St. Joseph's, Mr. Calareso said.

During his time at Anna Maria, the college has increased its endowment; added a football field, a stadium, a field house and an artificial turf field; three residence halls; and created an honors program.

The school continues to innovate. It just received approval from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges to offer a three-year bachelor's degree online in business. The program will run nearly year-round starting this fall and could spread to other online and in-person programs, Mr. Calareso said.

"It's a strong institution with a bright future," he said.

Mr. Calareso lives in Holden and plans to start in New York on Aug. 1. There, he will assume control of a 5,000-student college with campuses in Patchogue, Long Island and Brooklyn. He was named to the post after a nationwide search to replace Sister Elizabeth A. Hill, C.S.J., who has been president since 1997. Mr. Calareso will be the college's first lay leader, as he was when he led Ohio Dominion University.

He said that in that instance, the change was harder for alumni than anyone at the college, and he is optimistic about St. Joseph's. The key is to respect the college's culture, and "I have a secret weapon, and that's my wife, because they've never had a first lady, either, and she's very gracious."

His wife, Rose, is a media specialist in Sudbury.

He will be going from a 1,400-student school on a rambling campus in suburban Paxton to a mainly commuter school with approximately 1,500 students in Brooklyn and almost 4,000 on Long Island.

As a small, tuition-dependent liberal arts college, Anna Maria has felt the industry-wide pressures to keep costs down and compete for students. The average debt of its graduates was, at $49,206, one of the highest in the area, according to 2011-2012 figures from the Institute for College Access & Success, which also characterized the college as "high-debt."

The most recent tax filings available for the college are from 2011 and show the college had a small investment gain and that Mr. Calareso had a healthy salary. That year, his compensation totaled $371,614, which was more than the presidents of Clark University or Assumption College, but less than the president of Becker College. Anna Maria's endowment that year was up 2 percent to $3.3 million. Mr. Calareso estimated it this week at $5 million.

The school's enrollment dropped 4 percent from 2010 to 2012, but he expects to hit its target of 325 to 350 students for next fall's entering class. Approximately 35 to 40 percent of the school's enrollment is in online courses, he said.

The college's budget is about $35 million, and Mr. Calareso expects to leave the college with a surplus he estimates will be $500,000 to $1 million. It had surpluses for several years, then had a slight deficit last year because of cost overruns from two major renovation projects, he said.

The school's top administrators, including Mr. Calareso, took an average 2 percent pay cut in 2013, and the college laid off a handful of staff and consolidated management positions that year.

"Dr. Calareso comes to St. Joseph's College highly recommended by many of his colleagues across the country," said Chris Drewes, chairman of St. Joseph's board of trustees. "He is a strong leader with a stellar academic background and is well positioned to lead the college into the future from a position of strength."

Because Mr. Calareso's departure came as a surprise to Anna Maria's board of trustees, it is not yet clear who will run the college while a search for a new president is mounted. Mr. Calareso said he suspects the board will choose an interim leader.

"Jack has agreed to stay on in a transition phase for the time being. This has just happened, so we're still evaluating where we're at," Paul A. DiPierro of Shrewsbury, vice chairman of Anna Maria's board, said Sunday.

Mr. DiPierro said it could take as long as a year to name a new president.

"I was very surprised he chose this time to go," Mr. DiPierro said. "I'm extremely sad to see him go."

The Rev. Paul D. Kennedy, a trustee from Holden, said Anna Maria would carry on fine, thanks to an improved financial condition, until a new leader is found.

"I was completely surprised by his decision. I was a bit disappointed by it to be honest," Rev. Kennedy said. "I think he's done an excellent job."

Thomas Caywood and Bob Kievra of the Telegram & Gazette staff contributed to this report.
Contact Jacqueline Reis at jacqueline.reis@telegram.com. Follow her on Twitter @JackieReisTG